Crushing Limiting Beliefs: How to Triumph Over Your Inner Obstacles

Are your limiting beliefs holding you back?

Limiting beliefs are conscious or subconscious beliefs that hold you back in some way. They are ideas that limit you. Thoughts that keep you from reaching your full potential.

All of us have limiting beliefs. Sometimes these beliefs originate in our childhood, instilled into us by our parents or friends. Other times these beliefs are the result of trauma we experience. Sometimes there is no obvious explanation for where these beliefs come from.

If you’re going to achieve your true potential, you must eliminate the limiting beliefs that are holding you back. You must free yourself from the lies and falsehoods that you believe, both about yourself and about the world.

Here are 14 common limiting beliefs!

1.  I Don’t Have Enough Time

If you’re like most people, you’re extremely busy. You’ve got projects to work on, things to do around the house, people to spend time with, administrative tasks like paying bills, and a thousand emails to answer.

You’re so busy that you feel like you don’t have enough time to do the things that really matter to you. To focus on your dreams. To really achieve your goals. Your limiting belief is that there isn’t enough time in the day to get things done.

The best way to make this newfound empowering belief is to work on the thing that matters to you most FIRST thing in the day. By making quick progress on the tasks that matter most, you’ll feel more productive, and you’ll slash this limiting belief.

This principle is often called “slaying your dragons.” In other words, you “slay” your most important task, your “dragon”, first thing in the morning. Your new belief becomes, “There is plenty of time to do what matters because I work on what matters first.”

Congratulations! You’ve crushed the first of our featured limiting beliefs!

2.  I’m Too Old To Start Something New

With this limiting belief, you believe that in order to be successful, you need to start young. That the only way to truly achieve great things is to get started at a young age and work and work until you finally achieve greatness at an older age.

Your limiting belief is that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. You feel like if you tried to start something new at this point in your life, you would fail. Maybe you want to write a book. Maybe you want to take up skiing. But as you consider these things, you think to yourself, “Only young people do these things.”

There are thousands of people who have achieved huge amounts of success later in life. Joy Behar, former host of The View, didn’t start her career in show business until she was 40. Vera Wang didn’t start designing clothing until she was 40.

If they can do it, surely you can too. In order to rewrite your limiting belief, you need to realize that being older gives you more wisdom. You have more to offer, a broader skill set, and more experience.

Younger people are prone to make more mistakes because they don’t have the experience that you have. This keeps them from achieving success as quickly as they might. Your new belief is, “I am NEVER too old to start something new. I have the experience and wisdom to achieve anything I want, no matter what age I am.”

3.  Past Failure Means Future Failure

If you’ve ever tried and failed at something in the past, it’s easy to assume that your past failure means that you’ll fail again in the future. That past outcomes guarantee future outcomes.

Your limiting belief is that your past failure means future failure. You assume that the past governs the future. That if something didn’t work in previous attempts, it won’t work in the future.

The simple truth is that your past failures do not have any bearing on your current endeavors. Just because you’ve failed in the past doesn’t mean that you’ll fail in the future. In fact, failure in the past is actually an advantage! You’ve discovered one way that doesn’t work, which means you can avoid that way moving forward.

You need to adopt a similar belief. You haven’t failed in the past. You’ve simply discovered one particular way that doesn’t work. This has gotten you one step closer to your success.

4.  My Past Will Always Negatively Influence My Future

Maybe you’ve made mistakes in the past and you’re convinced that they’re going to keep you from achieving the success you desire. Maybe you’ve tried things in the past that simply haven’t worked. Maybe you don’t have a good track record in a particular area.

Your limiting belief is that your past holds sway over your future. You believe that your past actions restrict your future options, or that your past efforts will hamper your future efforts. So, you don’t feel like you can try anything new.

In order to rewrite this limiting belief, it’s important to understand that your past actions have no bearing on your future. Failure in the past doesn’t mean failure in the future. Struggle in the past doesn’t mean struggle in the future.

In fact, your past is one of your greatest assets. As you learn lessons from the past, it makes you that much wiser. You have more knowledge, skills, and experience.

5.  My Resources Are Limited

This limiting belief assumes that there are only a limited number of resources and options in the world. It operates out of what is called a “scarcity” mentality, which is the belief that there are only so many resources in the world and that most of these resources have been taken by others.

You think to yourself, “I don’t have enough [time, money, connections, etc.] to achieve what I want to achieve.” Because you assume that you don’t have enough resources and options, you fail to take action.

The reality is that we live in an abundant universe that has more than enough for everyone. There is no limit to the resources available if you simply start looking for them and opening yourself to receive them.

This mindset is called an “abundance” mindset. Instead of believing that there are very few resources available, you believe that there is more than enough to go around and that you can get whatever you need to accomplish your dreams.

Your new belief is that the universe has everything you need in order to achieve your biggest dreams and goals. You simply need to be open to all that the universe has to offer you. Focus on the abundance that you want to receive.

Congratulations! You’ve crushed another of our featured limiting beliefs!

6.  Lack Of Major Progress Means Failure

You feel that if you’re not making significant progress every single day, then you’re a failure. Maybe you have a list of goals that you want to achieve and that list haunts you. It’s a reminder of all that you haven’t achieved.

Your limiting belief is that lack of major progress on your goals means that you’re a failure. You constantly criticize and berate yourself for not achieving more. For not being more successful. For not accomplishing more, faster.

In order to rewrite this belief, you must understand that even the smallest progress on your goals is a big win. Small bits of progress on a consistent basis add up over time to big wins. You may not be making huge amounts of progress on a daily basis, and that’s OKAY.

Your new belief becomes that any progress is a win. Did you take one small step toward your goal? That’s a win! Even if you only do one thing per day or per week toward your goals, that’s progress and should be celebrated. Don’t judge your success by whether you’re making big jumps forward, but by your consistency.

7.  I Compare Myself To Others

It’s incredibly easy and common to compare yourself to others. You look at the success someone else is having and then compare that to your own levels of success. You compare your accomplishments to the accomplishments of others.

If someone else is seemingly accomplishing more than you, it makes you feel like a failure. You feel like you should be accomplishing at least as much, if not more than others.

In order to rewrite this limiting belief, it’s important to understand that the achievements of others simply don’t matter for you. It’s not that they aren’t important. But they don’t determine your worth, success, or value.

You are valuable simply because of who you are. Your successes should be celebrated, NOT compared to the successes of others. Your new belief is, “I am worthy, and I refuse to compare myself to others. Whether I achieve ‘a lot’ or ‘little’, I am still valuable and worthy.”

8.  I Am Not Responsible For My Current Situation

It’s easy to play the blame game. To believe that someone else is responsible for the situation your find yourself currently in. To assume that your circumstances are the products of other people’s actions.

When you don’t hold yourself responsible for your current circumstances, it allows you to stay stuck in those circumstances. After all, if you didn’t create the circumstances, surely you can’t be responsible for changing them. Your limiting belief is that you are not responsible for where you currently are in life.

If you’re going to make forward progress in life, it’s absolutely essential that you take 100% responsibility for the circumstances in which you find yourself. Yes, other people play a role in your life, but ultimately, you are responsible for what you accept and what you refuse.

Your new belief is, “I am 100% responsible for every area of my life.” This is actually an incredibly freeing belief. Once you realize that you created your current circumstances, you can then go about changing them.

9.  I Don’t Deserve Success

For whatever reason, you believe that you don’t deserve success. That you’re not good enough, smart enough, or lovable enough to be worthy of success. You believe that others are worthy of success, but when you look at your own life you refuse to believe that you should experience it.

Your limiting belief is that you are unworthy of success. This seriously limits the progress you can make. After all, you can’t achieve big things if you don’t think that you deserve them.

Ask yourself this question: who is worthy of success? The answer is EVERYONE, including you. Every person who works hard and diligently applies themselves to their job is worthy of finding success. There is no reason that you shouldn’t experience success.

Your new belief becomes, “I am worthy of all the success in the world.” No matter what anyone has told you, you deserve success and all the benefits that come with it.

10.  I Worry What Others Think About Me

You worry and even obsess over what others think about you. Worrying about what others think of you can be incredibly consuming. It can sap your time, energy, and joy. It keeps you from being productive and often causes you to second guess yourself.

Your limiting belief is that if you do (or don’t do) certain actions, others will think less of you. If this limiting belief is not kept in check, it can become an obsession. It can keep you from pursuing your dreams and cause you to constantly be afraid of what others are thinking.

The key to rewriting this limiting belief is to realize that what others think of you simply doesn’t matter. Does it matter if others think more or less of you? No, it doesn’t. What truly matters is what you think of yourself.

Your new belief is that the opinions of others don’t affect you one way or the other. You are free from caring what others think of you. You are secure in yourself, knowing that you are valuable and worthy. You no longer strive to make everyone happy.

Congratulations! You’ve crushed another set of our featured limiting beliefs! Keep going, you’re almost finished with our list of limiting beliefs!

11.  I Don’t Give Myself the Love, Compassion, and Understanding I Give To Others

You are a compassionate, kind, and loving person toward others. When someone makes a mistake, you are gracious toward them, understanding that everyone makes mistakes. But you don’t treat yourself in the same way. For some reason, you don’t believe that you deserve the same love, compassion, grace, and understanding that you give to others.

Your limiting belief is that you should be perfect, and if you’re not perfect you feel like you need to punish yourself. When you make a mistake, you endlessly berate yourself, feeling like you shouldn’t have made it. You’re not compassionate and gracious toward yourself. You don’t love yourself very much.

You need to understand that, just like everyone else, you are human. You make mistakes, and that’s okay. You have off days, and that’s not a problem. There are times when you’re not as productive or don’t get as much done, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Your new belief is that you deserve the same grace, compassion, love, and patience that you extend to others. You are patient with others. Be patient with yourself. You are loving toward others. Be loving toward yourself.

12.  I Can Do Everything Myself

In our culture, it’s extremely easy to feel like you need to do everything yourself. To feel like you can’t ask for help. So, you never ask for assistance. You try to do everything on your own, thinking that if you can get by without the help of others that it’s a sign of strength.

But in reality, not being able to ask for help is actually a sign of weakness. The truth is that none of us can do everything on our own. We all have limitations, blind spots, and areas of weakness. Your limiting belief is that you can do everything yourself without any help from others.

In order to rewrite this limiting belief, you need to come to terms with the fact that you simply can’t do everything. You need to utilize the abilities of others. The more you tap into their strengths, the more you’ll be able to get done and the closer you’ll come to actually achieving your goals, hopes, and dreams.

Your new belief is that you need the help of others in order to reach your true potential. You have so much potential, but you need others to help you fully realize it. Ask for help.

13.  I’m Not Smart Enough

You feel like you’re not smart enough to achieve a particular task or goal. Like you don’t have the necessary intelligence to accomplish what you truly want to accomplish. Like you’re lacking the needed knowledge to get something done.

Your limiting belief is that you aren’t smart enough to do what you really want to do. This belief can keep you from even trying to do new things. You can feel so intimidated at the thought of trying to learn something new that you won’t even start.

First and foremost, you truly are much smarter than you realize. Think of all you’ve already accomplished in your life. It takes a high degree of intelligence to achieve all that you have.

Second, you have an incredible ability to learn. Consider all the things you’ve learned to do over the course of your life. Your brain is a sponge, and you’re able to learn almost anything that you decide is important to you.

Your new belief is that you are incredibly smart and are able to learn anything you set your mind to. This changes the way you approach new tasks. Instead of fearing having to learn things that are new, you eagerly anticipate the challenge. Instead of constantly doubting yourself, you are confident in your ability to tackle any task.

14.  I’m Not Ready To Start

You have something big and exciting that you want to do…but you don’t feel like you’re ready to launch. You don’t feel like you have enough of the pieces in place in order to effectively get started. So, you wait. You keep trying to get everything just perfect and ready to launch.

Your limiting belief is that you’re not ready to start until everything is perfect. The problem is that with this mentality you’ll never actually get started. If you wait until everything is perfect in order to launch, you’ll never launch. Because nothing will ever actually be perfect.

You must understand that what truly matters is progress, not perfection. Getting started matters more than getting everything perfect. There comes a time when you simply must hit the “Go” button.

Once you get started, you can make the necessary corrections. You can correct your course as needed. But if you wait until you feel perfectly ready to launch, you will never launch at all. Your new belief is that you should get started and make changes as necessary.

In sum, you discovered many common limiting beliefs that may be stopping you – keeping you stuck in routines of frustration, worry, and despair. You learned techniques to conquer these negative beliefs and instill new, positive beliefs in their place. Learning how to transform these beliefs can help you to discover and conquer other limiting beliefs that you may have. Most people are unaware of these limiting beliefs. But not you. You will no longer be held captive by them. You will no longer let them keep you from reaching your full potential. You have been given the truth, and the truth will set you free.

If you’d like personalized support while you crush your limiting beliefs, book a call and let’s talk about how coaching can help. Read testimonials from satisfied clients.